Travels Back In Time
by Brightfire15
Summary: Rose is with Nine when suddenly she gets sent back into Eight's timeline. Unable to get back for twenty-eight hours, Eight decides to show Rose Gallifrey and Rose will have to decide whether or not to tell him about his future invovling the Time War


Travels Back In Time

8th and 9thDoctor/Rose

Disclaimer: I do not own _Doctor Who _

A/N: Eighth Doctor may act a little OOC, but I hope I don't get flamed because of it. 

I just wrote this when I was a bit bored. Hope it's okay. 

It had started out like any other day with the Doctor but something had gone wrong. One minute she'd been talking to him as he drove them to their next destination when something had gone wrong and the next she'd felt herself being painfully torn away from him. The floor felt cold and hard as she tried to pick herself up and failed. She was breathing hard, her head was spinning and her vision was a bit cloudy. She felt someone helping her up and placing her on a chair.

"Here, just sit here and rest for a moment. Are you alright?" asked an unfamiliar, but kind voice. "You look like you just took a bit of tumble."

Rose's vision cleared and to her surprise, she was looking at a man with brown curls and grey eyes. His clothes looked as if they were from and Victorian play and his accent wasn't Northern. She was in the TARDIS, but this man certainly wasn't the Doctor. "I think I'm alright, thanks," she said.

"Good. Now, Miss, what is your name and how exactly did you get on my TARDIS?"

Rose stared. "Excuse me, _your _TARDIS? This is the Doctor's TARDIS. My name is Rose Tyler, his companion. Who are you and what the heck have you done with him?"

The man stared. "I beg your pardon? I _am _the Doctor and I can assure you we've never met before now, Miss Tyler."

Rose shook her head. "That's not possible. I know the Doctor, he's my friend and I can assure _you_, you are not him. He knows me! You don't look or even _sound _like him. And as for how I got in here, he gave me this." She pulled out her TARDIS key and held it in front of him.

His expression changed from puzzlement to something else she couldn't place as he held out his hand. "May I see that, please? I'll give it right back."

She hesitated before she placed it in his hand. It glowed in his palm and he looked both shocked and amazed as he handed it back to her. "Rasslion, of _course, _that explains it."

"What?" Rose was confused.

"Rose, did your Doctor ever mention regeneration?"

"No," she said, even more confused. "What is it?"

He looked surprised. "Rassilon, what _have_ I been doing? Rose, listen to me. Time Lords have thirteen lives. When we die, we're reborn and change our bodies twelve times. This is why I don't know you. You're from my future timeline."

Rose was stunned. "Oh, good grief," she said as she sat back down on the couch. He sat next to her as she gazed into his grey eyes. She saw her Doctor in them. "It _is_ you, isn't it? You look different, but you're still the same Doctor." It was absolutely crazy but what other explanation was there? _I am so going to kill the Doctor when I get back._

He squeezed her shoulder. "I know it's a bit hard to swallow, but it's the truth, Rose. I wouldn't lie to you."

Rose studied his face for a moment and nodded. "I believe you. So when we—"

"Don't," he interrupted. "Don't tell me about the future unless I ask you. Even a Time Lord is not allowed to know about his own future. There are a series of rules about this and it could cause trouble for the timeline."

Rose nodded. "Of course, Doctor. But aren't I causing problems for the timeline by being here? I mean, the Reapers were bad enough _once_ but—"

"Reapers?" he repeated, looking shocked. "How in the world did you know about them? Are you telling me you've actually _seen _Reapers?"

"Er, yeah," she admitted. "Long story, don't ask."

His eyes widened. "Good heavens, I must be getting reckless in my old age. I never mention regenerating and I let my companion almost get killed by a Reaper."

Rose giggled.

He looked at her. "What?"

"It's just…so weird seeing you talk about yourself like that. It's kind of funny. You know, I think I like this body."

"Better than the one you're used to?" he asked.

"You're both very handsome," she assured him.

He smiled. "Well, thank you, Rose. And to answer your question, no, you aren't going to cause a paradox. It'll be fine." He clapped his hands together. "Now, we need to get you back to your Doctor."

"And how exactly are we going to do that? I don't even know how I got here."

"Well, can you remember what happened before you disappeared?"

"It was like any other morning with you. I got up; we had breakfast and started planning our next trip. We were talking in the control room when all of a sudden, something got messed up and I felt myself being yanked away—painfully and I wound up here." Rose frowned. "Is it possible the timelines got mixed or something?"

He smiled again. "Aren't you the clever one? And yes, it's very possible. Sometimes with time-traveling, timelines can cross one another or I find someone who knows me from a different time but I don't know him because I haven't met him yet. Does that make sense?"

It didn't make much sense at all, but Rose just said, "Yeah, I think so. So, do you think you can get me back?"

He thought for a moment. "Come with me."

Rose followed him to the control room where he hunched over some controls and started hitting them with a small mallet.

"Sorry, she's got a bit of indigestion. This could take a while."

"It's alright." She walked around and examined the area. The control room was different than what Rose was used to, but it still had the same feeling her Doctor's TARDIS had had. _Her _Doctor. Had he even noticed she was missing? How long had she been gone for him? _And why on earth didn't he ever mention regenerating? _She sighed as she stroked one of the control panels. "Come on, TARDIS," she murmured. "You can get through this, you brilliant girl." The TARDIS seemed to purr under her touch and it immediately began working smoother.

The Doctor looked stunned and stared at her. "What did you do? She never works that well for me."

Rose grinned. "I just stroked her and complimented her."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and spoke to the TARDIS. "You just like Rose better, don't you?" He scowled as he received a mental reply.

Rose laughed as he smiled again. "She likes you quite a lot, Rose. Anyway, Well, I think I have it all worked out. It was just a matter of reconnecting the Time Vortex to the extrapolator, using the bipolar connections to reroute most of the power, and making the—" he cut himself off at Rose's look. "In simple terms, I can get you back but it's going to require a lot of power and the TARDIS needs to charge it up. You can be home in 28 hours from now. That's the best I can do."

Rose just nodded. "Thank you."

"Okay then. We've got a bit of time to kill, so where do you want to go?"

Rose looked surprised. "We can travel somewhere? But I thought—you know what, just never mind. I don't know where to go. You pick."

He thought for a moment. "Have I taken you to Gallifrey yet?"

Rose shook her head. "No. What's Gallifrey?"

He stared at her. "It's my home planet. Haven't I mentioned it?"

"Here and there, but I never found out the name." The Doctor's past had always been a bit of a touchy subject and she had never pressed for details about the Time War, Gallifrey, his family or any of it—preferring to wait until he was ready to talk about it.

"Not even the name? Are you serious? I've never showed my home planet?"

She nodded.

"Goodness me, I am going mental. Well then, Gallifrey it is. You have to see it to believe it, Rose. It's the most beautiful place in the galaxy beside Earth." He began punching in the coordinates. "Out of curiosity, why haven't I taken you there before?"

Rose froze. He hadn't taken her to see Gallifrey because Gallifrey no longer existed. It had been destroyed in the Time War. For a moment she struggled with what to say as the TARDIS quickly came to a stop and she fell to the floor. "Ow. We've been really busy lately."

"You're lying and no, it's alright," he added as she opened her mouth to speak. "You have your reasons, I understand. Well, either way, home is still home. So," he helped her up and held out his arm. "Shall we?"

She took his arm and followed him into the sunshine.

He was right, Gallifrey was amazing. It took Rose's breath away as she gazed at the burnt orange skies, silver trees, red grass and snow-capped mountains that seemed to go on forever. The major cities seemed to glow and glimmer in the bright sunlight. Right in the center of the mountains was the Citadel of Gallifrey. "Oh, wow. This is beautiful," she gasped. "Show me everything; I want to see it all."

The Doctor smiled. "Your wish is my command. Come on."

"So, Doctor, what're the rest of your people like? I mean, are they all travelers like you?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No. A great deal of them prefer to stay here, there are politicians and members of the High Council of Gallifrey. Speaking of which, don't wander off. I'm a renegade and the High Council members aren't exactly that polite with humans."

"Gotcha," said Rose.

They spent the day doing a bit of shopping. Before long, Rose's bag contained a crystal that held Gallifrey's written works, a silver glittering rock, a small silver leaf off one of the trees, a beautiful blue flower and a small blade of red grass. This Doctor seemed to have no problem with her having these items and nor did he seem to mind shopping, which she enjoyed immensely. She couldn't save Gallifrey, but she could save a few reminders of their time there. Still, she wanted to find something special to give him.

Then something caught her eye. It was a beautiful blue velvet book with little panels like the TARDIS and had black and silver borders. There was no title, but when Rose opened it, she saw a moving photograph of her and her Doctor and some text describing the scene, word for word.

"Can I help you, Miss?" asked the shopkeeper, startling her.

"Yes, what is this?"

"Ah, that is memory book. It telepathically records memories or thoughts of whoever touches it and allows them to see, hear and read whatever they want to. It all depends upon your preference."

"Wow," said Rose. "How much is this? I want it for a friend of mine."

The shopkeeper smiled. "Miss has excellent taste. Would this friend be the Doctor?"

Rose was surprised but answered, "Yes."

"Well then, you may have it for free."

Rose stared. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. "Any friend of the Doctor's is a friend of mine. Take it, please." He had already wrapped up in a box and tied it with a ribbon.

"Thank you, thank you so much."

The shopkeeper just smiled and nodded as she waved good-bye. She hid the box in her bag and was careful as she passed a jewelry stall and saw something. It was a glittering dark blue gemstone set in a beautiful, heart-shaped, silver locket.

"Would you like that?"

Rose nearly jumped out of her skin. She hadn't noticed the Doctor was there. "For heaven's sake, one of these days you are going to have to quit scaring me like that! I nearly had a heart attack."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," he said, smiling apologetically. "Old habits die hard. Would you like the locket?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"Then say no more."

"You don't have to—" she began but the shopkeeper was already placing it in a small box and handing it to the Doctor. He clamped it around her neck and smiled.

"A beautiful necklace for a beautiful lady," he said.

Rose fingered the locket. "Thank you. It's beautiful. Is this a sapphire?"

"No, it's one of Gallifrey's rarer gems: a lucky stone. Legend has it, it brings you luck."

Rose smiled. Without a moment's hesitation, she took his hand and ran.

"Rose, for pity's sake, slow down! What on earth are we running for?"

Rose grinned. "Oh come on, Doctor, it's hardly an adventure without us running from _something!_"

He stared for a moment before laughing and speeding up his pace. They finally stopped at a cliff that overlooked most of the fields tried to catch their breaths. The Doctor plunked down onto a bench to rest. "Blimey, I haven't had a good run like that for a while," he said. "Is it always like that with you and your Doctor?"

"Pretty much," she said, smiling as she sat next to him.

He chuckled. "Just answer me this: does he make you happy?"

Rose nodded. "Doctor?"

"Hmm?"

"Which one are you?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Which body is this?"

"Ah," he paused for a moment. "This is my eighth life."

_Eight bodies in nine hundred years, _she thought. Which body had she met in Henricks, then? "So, tell me about regenerating. What changes exactly?"

"Goodness, you are curious, aren't you?" But he was smiling. "Well, my looks, bits of my personality and some of my tastes. My fifth body had an unusual taste for celery, for example. I wore it in my suit."

Rose laughed. "Celery?" she repeated. "Oh, that's rich." The idea of the Doctor wearing a vegetable was just too hard to believe. Her Doctor wouldn't have been caught dead wearing it.

He shrugged. "You should've seen the suit I wore in my sixth life. I don't know what possessed me to wear that thing. I think I went colorblind."

They both laughed.

"Okay, so what about your memories? Does any of that change? Do you forget some things from before or anything?"

"Well, sometimes when the process goes wrong, I forget things but usually they all come back." He squeezed her hand. "I may regenerate, but I'm not going to forget you anytime soon, Rose, if that's what you're worried about."

Rose just returned the squeeze and smiled. "So, have you always traveled alone or…?"

"No, I've had some people traveling with me. We were just good friends, but in the end they left. They always do."

He seemed a little upset and Rose's heart went out to him. She squeezed his hand. "Well, I'm not leaving you—ever. I made my choice and I won't leave you."

He looked touched. "Thank-you, Rose Tyler. Come on, we've been shopping for twelve hours and I expect you're hungry by now. What say you for some dinner?"

"Fine by me, just let me get a picture. I want to remember this."

She set the timer and took a picture of them together. Pleased, he pocketed the photo before he took her hand and led her to a very fancy restaurant. She surprised him when she decided to try some of the foods without actually knowing what they were. Her order turned out to be an unusual-looking pasta that smelled strongly of garlic and a blue drink. She took a bite and was overwhelmed by the intense taste.

"Holy cow, this is delicious!" she said. "What's it called again?"

"_Kalkun_, it's one of Gallifrey's famous dishes," he explained, smiling as she sipped her drink.

Over dinner, the Doctor talked about his past adventures, his university days and his last encounter with another renegade Time Lord called the Master. It was a bit unusual to have the Doctor be so open about his past, but at the same time, it was nice. As they spoke, Rose couldn't help but notice several people were dancing to the music that was playing. The Doctor must've noticed as well because he asked, "Would you care to dance?"

"Of course, but I'm not sure I know the steps," she confessed as he took her hand.

"You'll do fine. Just follow my lead."

"Alright, but I warn you, I'm terrible dancer."

He smirked. "Oh, I'd have to see that to believe it, Rose."

Rose laughed as he led her across the dance floor. To her relief, she managed to dance as well as the Doctor did and had a marvelous time. After dinner, they went for a walk. He offered to carry her bag, complaining a bit at how heavy it was but doing it for her all the same.

"What's it like at night here? Is there a night life?" Rose asked.

"Unfortunately, there's not. But I have something special in mind. Now hurry up, you're going to want to see this, trust me."

"Always have, always will," she said.

He didn't reply, but looked touched as he took her hand and led her to the cliff. Rose looked and could scarcely believe the beautiful sight. As the two suns set, the forest glowed like it was on fire and the mountains sparkled. The Doctor held her close as she took in a slow, steady breath. It was beautiful and the moment was wonderful. For a moment, she wished it could always be like this: peace, quiet and just watching the sunset with no worries whatsoever. As much as she enjoyed this, she couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if things had been different? Would her Doctor have done this with her if Gallifrey had survived? What would've happened to them if the Time War never happened? Would she have ever met him? She silently hoped she wasn't going to make the Doctor's loss of Gallifrey even greater by being here.

"Rose?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright? You're a bit quiet," he asked.

She looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking. This is so beautiful."

He just smiled he slipped his hand into hers. They sat down and he showed her the stars. "Over there is Women Wept, that's the planet Barcelona, there's Mir, that's Sep'tha, there's Petra, and right over there is Sol. Have I taken you any of those places yet?"

"Yeah, I've seen some of them. Doctor, can you show me Earth?"

"Of course, it's right over there." He pointed to a very far away twinkling little star. Rose could barely see it but she knew it was there. "Brilliant race, you humans, always surviving and going further than expected. Even now, you're reaching for the stars."

Rose smiled. "Wow. Doctor?"

"Yes, Rose?"

"I just want to say, thanks. Thanks for showing me Gallifrey and just everything else. I've really loved it. Thank you."

"You're Welcome."

She snuggled closer to him as he continued to point out stars and explain what they were. She must've dozed off because the next thing she knew, she was being gently shaken by the Doctor.

"You fell asleep," he explained to her questioning look. "It's been seven and a half hours. I would've woken you sooner, but you looked tired."

"It's alright," she said, blushing a bit at the fact that he'd been watching her sleep the whole time. "How much longer have we got?"

"About thirty minutes. We'd better get back to the TARDIS."

Rose nodded, grabbed her bag and followed him to the TARDIS. She noticed the Doctor was being a little quiet and there was silence until he broke it.

"So, I guess this is good-bye?" the Doctor said.

"I suppose so," said Rose. "But I'm going back to you, so I'm not really leaving am I?"

"I suppose so," he said, echoing her words. "You can't take it with you."

"What?"

"Your things," he explained, pointing to the bag and the locket. "You can't take them with you back to your timeline."

"Oh, right. Is there somewhere I can leave them?"

"Yes, there's a closet down the hall that I never open. You can leave it there until you come back."

"You won't go looking for it?"

"Not if you don't want me to."

"Thanks." She rushed off and left her bag there. She kept her locket on, as she had somewhere special to leave it. She returned to the control room and to her surprise, the Doctor was looking upset as he worked. Rose put a hand on his shoulder. "Doctor, what's wrong?"

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "I don't want you to go. Let me finish," he added when Rose opened her mouth to speak. "I know you have to because of the timeline, but I just wish you didn't have to. How long will it be before I see you again, months, years?"

Rose hugged him tightly as he wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair.

"It won't be that long, I promise. Just a small wait I swear, and before you know it I'll there with you, fighting aliens and defending the world like always," she murmured. "I promise

He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes and a small smile met his lips. "I can't wait till then."

Rose couldn't stand it any longer. "Doctor, about the future, it—"

"Don't," he interrupted as he took her hands in his. "Don't tell me _anything_. I know that something's coming, but it'll be alright."

"But how can you know that?"

"Because it'll hold you," he said, simply. "And that's all I will ever need to know, Rose."

Rose felt tears sting her eyes as she kissed him on the lips and he returned it. She slipped off her locket he'd bought her and placed it in his hands. "Hold on to this for me, okay? Whatever happens, stay strong and remember me. Because I'll be back for it and I need you. Remember me and our time together, Doctor. I'll be waiting for you. It's not good-bye for long, I promise."

He pocketed the locket and hugged her once more before taking a step back. He kept his gaze on her as he said, "Good-bye, Rose Tyler. I'll be there to catch you when you fall."

Before she could reply, she felt herself being torn away from him.

Traveling back was just like her trip to the Doctor's eighth form, only it was less painful and she felt herself falling. She braced for impact and was surprised when she fell into a pair of warm, strong arms that were easing her to the ground. Her vision cloudy, she blinked several times and saw a pair of bright blue eyes looking at her hazel ones. She was seeing _her _Doctor.

"Told you I'd be there to catch you when you fell," he said, grinning.

Rose shook her head, trying to clear it as he put her down and helped her to stand.

"Take it easy, the effects will wear off in a moment. You've had quite the journey."

"Yeah and that reminds me." Feeling much better, she reached over and smacked him.

"OW! What is it with you Tyler women and _slapping _me? What was that for?"

"_That_ was for not telling me about regeneration! And this—" she grabbed his jacket. "—is for being the Time Lord I love." She pulled him into a kiss that he returned. When they let go for a moment to breathe, there was nothing but the love they had for each other in their eyes.

"I love you," he whispered. "I love you so much. I don't know why it took me so long to admit it."

"It's alright. I love you too."

He helped her up and hugged her.

"It was so weird meeting the other you. But at the same time, it was fun."

"It happens sometimes. It's one of the risks of time-traveling."

Rose shook her head. "Next time, warn me. Can you remember all of what happened when I met your eighth body?"

He nodded. "Yep."

"And you somehow pretended you didn't know me when we met in the basement of Henricks? You didn't exactly look pleased to see me."

He shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Well, to be quite honest, the regeneration process had gone a bit weird. I didn't remember you until after we defeated the Nestine. I asked you to come with me the first time because I wanted you to come and I went the second time because I knew you'd do it."

She hugged him. "You old sweetheart. Did you miss me after I left the other you and how long was I gone before we met in the basement?"

"Of course I missed you!" he looked surprised she had even thought otherwise. "And to answer your other question, it was two days later that I met up with you again."

Rose couldn't believe it. Just two days after their time on Gallifrey and then all had been destroyed. Rose's eyes stung with tears. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. Had she made things worse with her visit to Gallifrey? To her surprise, he was hugging her tightly.

"No, Rose, don't be sorry." He sighed. "When I was about to regenerate into this daft old form, I almost didn't. But then I remembered you. Just your face and your name, knowing I would see you again made it easier. You were—and still are—what keeps me going."

Rose was stunned before she kissed his cheek and he pulled her necklace out of his pocket and slipped it onto her neck.

"I think this belongs to you," he said, grinning.

"So, my necklace brought you a bit of luck, after all?" she said.

"Yep," he said.

The Rose remembered her shopping items. "Wait right here," she said. She quickly ran off and returned after a few minutes with the bag. She handed it to him. "This was for you. I couldn't save all of Gallifrey, but I thought I could save a part of it."

The Doctor was silent as he took out the contents of the bag. The leaf, flower, and the blade of grass were dried now but still lovely. He almost seemed on the verge of tears when he took out the crystal that held his peoples' written works. But he was shocked when he took out the memory book and saw a page with a picture of his eighth and ninth form and Rose was right in between them. The text that described the scene, said, _Forever My Doctor._

"Doctor?" said Rose, noticing his silence.

Within moments, he was hugging and kissing her again.

"Thank you, Rose," he said. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," she said.

After a while, he let go and put the gifts back before punching buttons and pulling levers on the control panel. "Now, what say I take to you to Barcelona where they have dogs with no noses?"

Rose smiled and laughed. "Fine by me."

10


End file.
